Uncle Sam

Like many readers and writers, I subscribe to The New York Times, in large part, because of its weekly Book Review. In addition to reading through it, I listen to the weekly podcast. It's a great podcast. There are author interviews and/or interviews with the reviewers of the weekly book selections and those reviewers are often best-selling authors themselves. There's a segment on what's happening in the industry ("Notes From The Field") and the podcast usually ends with the "Bestseller News." I listen to the podcast because it's entertaining, it makes me feel like I'm enjoying a New York artsy/literary lifestyle (I live in New Jersey) - albeit for just a half hour or so - and because it keeps me updated on what's going on with books and such. As a reader, I like to be informed. As a writer, I feel I have to be. Moreover, the repartee between the podcast host and his regular contributors feels like you're in the living room, at a holiday gathering, listening to your uncles and aunts; and that would be your favourite uncles and aunts.

I'll confess that I listen, also, because, as a novelist, I've occasionally dreamt of being featured in the print edition of the Times' Book Review and of being interviewed on the podcast by the host himself. I doubt I'm the only one who's fantastised about this. Anyway, the host retired recently and, while I do enjoy the new host and her style, I can't help from feeling like I've lost a favourite uncle and that my dream of being interviewed by him, as far-fetched as that was, is long gone. (Having said that, however, if I'm ever given the chance to be interviewed and featured in the podcast and if that interview is being conducted by a blind, deaf and mute chimpanzee, I'll take it. It's The New York Times Book Review, for crying out loud!)

Before I continue, I must say that this host's departure isn't the first time I've felt his way. The last time this same dream of being interviewed by a major outlet for my writing went up in smoke was when Steve Bertrand quit the Barnes and Noble Meet The Writers series. That time, just a few years back, however, was a little different from this one. Since I last checked, there haven't been any new MTW episodes since Mr. Bertrand's departure so I believe the show lowered its curtains altogether and that it wasn't just a case of Mr. Bertrand leaving.

With The New York Times podcast, I'm talking, of course, about Sam Tanenhaus. He's charismatic, intelligent, jocular and genuine and I get that merely by listening to him. I've never met the man. After nine years of hosting the podcast, which I've listened to since 2006, he's off to write about politics, still with The New York Times. I was never really drawn to politics growing up but as I've gotten older, worrying about health insurance, job security, immigration laws (I'm an immigrant and so is my wife) and other such matters, I've paid more attention to it the last ten years or so than I have before. And, with Barack Obama becoming president in 2008, I've paid still more attention to politics. Obama's warm and caring "let's look out for one another" platform and his strong ties to Asia, and what that means for me as an American citizen, I finally felt a sense of Americanism inside me that I hadn't felt since acquiring US citizenship in 1987. Back to Mr. Tanenhaus. If he's going to be writing on politics in America, I may follow it even more. Politics, for me, can be dryer than....I was about to go into some locker room humour but I won't. It can be dry. With Mr. Tanenhaus on the beat, I doubt it'll stay that way.

So, thank you Mr. Tanenhaus. I've enjoyed listening to you and I will continue to listen to the podcast. Those following you have large shoes to fill. Best of luck in your new endeavour.

Books Are For Everyone

I was just having lunch, in between classes, when a Tweet came in from @Weegee with a link to an editorial in today's New York Times.  You have to read it but there was a comment made that ruffled my feathers, as it likely did @Weegee's as well. The comment is, "...books cater to older, less Internet-savvy customers..." This is just an insulting and, simply, ridiculous statement.

For one thing, I'm very tech and Internet-savvy. In a previous school district I taught in, I ran our computer lab setting up our LAN and repairing our computers' hardware problems. I even detected and repaired a problem with a Mac at a training that the instructor had not put there ahead of time; a problem that had to do with the computer's motherboard. I also have Kindle and Nook apps on my iPhone, which I use when I travel since, let's face it, we're all forced to fly light now with all the fees for baggage and what not and, so, I can't bring the books I'm reading. I also maintain two blogs and my own website and I know how to use a Kindle, a Nook and an iPad and I don't own any of them. My point: I'm tech and Internet-savvy and I love books. However, I love books (I'm an avid reader and a writer) but I prefer, on any given day of the week, to hold an actual book in my hands. I love their smell, the sound of turning pages, the feel of their weight in my hands and the satisfaction of closing it when I've finished the last chapter.

Now, I'm only 41. Maybe the customers the editorial was referring to are people like my parents who are in their 70s. Well, my dad is tech savvy and my mum knows how to e-mail. That might not make them Steve Jobs but they aren't intimidated by technology. Oh, and they love books too. My dad is a writer and my mum is a retired English teacher.

I also just attended The Writer's Digest Conference last weekend, where several of the sessions had to do with establishing a media presence before, during and after one's novel is being published. Many of the presenters were authors - hmm, people who love books - and many of them were in their 20s and 30s - hmm, young people. Among them were Kevin Smokler, founder of BookTour.com, and Brent Sampson, president and CEO of OutSkirts Press.

Moreover, I have students who are extremely computer savvy. They're coming up with projects in my Health classes that are more than Powerpoint presentations. Some of them are coming up with snazzy videos that include complex special effects. Many of them have YouTube and Facebook accounts with all sorts of apps, bells, whistles and uploads on their pages that make me wonder if they might end up working for Pixar. However, many of them don't own a Nook or Kindle or iPad because either they can't afford it or their parents won't get them one or simply because they like books. Recently, one of my students brought with her two hardcopy novels with her to read if she'd completed all of the in-class work we had planned. TWO hardcopy novels. I asked her if they were good, if she liked them. Emphatically, she said she did. (One of them was The Hunger Games.) When I asked her why she carried both with her, in addition to her notebooks and binders for school, she said that she had to read and that she had to know what was going to happen next.

So, to whoever wrote the editorial, get your facts straight. Perhaps from a sales perspective, since print book sales may be struggling, books may be geared to a more tech-savvy audience because they're cheaper out-of-pocket and there is such an influx of different ereaders but don't tell me that younger, tech and internet-savvy people don't love books. Just go into any middle school, at the very least, and see for yourself.